October 6, 2021 / Podcast Episode

Episode 7: Dilma da Silva

Interview with: Dilma da Silva.
Professor of Computer Sci and Engg at Texas A&M University, Former Department Head, Formerly at IBM Research for over a decade, Formerly Professor in Brazil, 
Founding Leader of Latinas in Computing, Chair of ACM SIGOPS Cares Committee.
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Episode Guide

In this Episode with Dilma da Silva: How being female helped her interest in Science and Math; 70+ family members dropping her off at Brazil airport when she immigrated to US; Adapting to life in US; Leaving Academia for Industry; Then Leaving Industry for Academia; Leaving East Coast for West Coast (East Coast vs. West Coast) then leaving for Texas; First and Second Immigration; Gender disparity; Minority Tax – better in industry or in academia?; Accent bias for immigrants and Hispanics; Dilma’s foundational and ongoing work in the Latinas in Computing and ACM SIGOPS Cares committee. And much more!

  • mm.ss: Segment Info (Index)
  • 0.00: Voices in this episode
  • 1.43: Biography
  • Chapter 1: 4.22-18.32: Early schooling, First engineer in family, in 1970s and 80s.
    • 4.22: First generation schooler from family, Childhood and Upbringing in Brazil 
    • 7.08: Why did earlier generations not attend school?
    • 8.58: “Being female helped” focus on science and math interests early in life
    • 10.02: Early Interest in math and science in middle/high school, Entrance exam, Preparatory coaching for university, entrance exam
    • 12.05: Entrance exam to university 
    • 15.17: First computer, First Programming language 
    • 16.34: Did middle and high school education prepare you to be a Computer Scientist?
  • Chapter 2: 18.32-27.33: Making Plans, 1970s/80s/90s.
    • 18.32: When did you get interested in research?  First Portuguese document on Object Oriented languages. 
    • 20.51: Role models and reasons to become Professor. “For parents it was a job”. (paraphrased) We faculty don’t communicate that our job is fun!
    • 22.48: She made her own plans, and did not tell her parents about applying to do research.
  • Chapter 3: 27.33-32.11: Brazil Government Upheaval, 1980s/90s.
    • 27.33: Brazil’s military dictatorship and its effect. Government socialization of money. 
    • 30.08: Did government funding for PhD come with strings attached? 
  • Chapter 4: 32.11-37.42: Thoughts of Re-Immigrating to US, and Immigrating from Industry to Academia, in 2000.
    • 32.11: As a professor in Brazil, applying on the internet for US job postings, in 2000. “A lot of talent was leaving the research labs”. Always a teacher even in IBM Research. 
    • 33.51: Employed as professor in Brazil while finishing PhD in the US. Absconding committee member on her PhD committee.
  • Chapter 5: 37.42-57.50: Adapting to US, in 1990s and 2000.
    • 37.42: Adapting to the US on first visit for PhD in 1990. Speed of classes, how to read papers, and how to make friends. 
    • 42.34: Gender disparity – her thoughts. Her parties! Why her PhD advisor was good at advising women.  
    • 52.47: “Minority tax” is harder in academia. Tax helps with name recognition more in a research lab than in academia. Power Differentiation in academia is worse than in research lab. 
  • Chapter 6: 57.50-1.06.48: Thoughts of Re-Immigrating from Industry to Academia, in 2014. 
    • 57.50: “On any given day I did not know the value of the stock (of the company)”
    • 1.02.18: Silicon Valley vs NYC, “The Starbucks Test”, Living in small apartments in NYC and Mountain View (but not in Texas), Creating a CV when in industry, to move back to academia. 
  • Chapter 7: 1.06.48-1.15.50: Perspectives, Retrospectives.
    • 1.06.48: Lessons that we can learn for US Hispanic students, from Brazilian experiences. “Accent Bias” for both immigrants and for Hispanic students born in the US today.
    • 1.12.27: Her philosophy on dealing with rejection and Impostor syndrome.
  • Chapter 8: 1.15.50-1.23.34: Diversity and Inclusion Work.
    • 1.15.50: ACM SIGOPS Care Committee
    • 1.20.43: Latinas in Computing 
    • 1.23.34: Hypothetical: Would your career have been different if you’d stayed in Brazil?
    • 1.28.14: Opportunities for mixing between domestic students and international students
About the Narrator in this Episode
Links
Upcoming Episodes

This is the first episode of a 4-episode segment featuring prominent and distinguished Computer Scientists all of whom immigrated from Brazil, and all of whom spent significant time in both industry and academia.

Look for our next episode, featuring the full interview with Rodrigo Fonseca (Episode 8).

We also recommend you listen to the Lead Episode for Brazil (Episode 5), and the full interview with Rico Malvar (Episode 6).

  • Credits
    • Music Credits for Podcast
    • The caption picture at top of page is a view from the top of Mesa Verde National Park, USA. Pic taken by Indy Gupta. 
The Immigrant Computer Scientists Podcast is available for free on your favorite devices & apps: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and many more!
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CategoriesPodcast Episode

indygupta Written by:

Professor of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign